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Holidays
Is Crete really this cold?!
PossiblyDreaming · 26/02/2022 21:48
It’s way colder than London according to Google! I was thinking about taking my dc for a week over Easter. I’m not expecting it to be hot, in fact I’ve been looking for somewhere that won’t be hot enough for them to want to be in the pool the whole time as I’m a single parent and I find both them in the pool together for long periods stressful. 6yo still isn’t a particularly strong swimmer, 9yo is a very strong swimmer but 6yo tries to keep up and ends up out of his depth/ panicking etc.
2-10 degrees is pretty miserable for doing anything though. Is it really that cold? Why is it so cold?!
EekThreek · 26/02/2022 21:56
Met office has it higher than that www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/travel/holiday-weather/europe/greece/crete
borntobequiet · 26/02/2022 21:58
I went to Crete at Easter once and had a great holiday, it was sunny but definitely not beach weather. Mostly I went walking and did cultural stuff. Great with fewer other people around.
CoffeeRunner · 26/02/2022 22:03
There's no way any of the Greek Islands are that cold in April or May surely?
I've been to Zante in May & absolutely cooked during the day. It did get cool in the evenings but that's fine.
HaveANiceFuckingDay · 26/02/2022 22:04
I wouldnt expect the weather to be hot in Crete at Easter.
T shirt weather and light jacket some days maybe but not canaries warm by any stretch. Warm Spring if I were to describe it
Haudyourwheesht · 26/02/2022 22:16
It's not that wam. Even in the holiday season,,other than in June, July, August, it's cardigan in the evening weather. Accommodation owners have told me it snows in winter.
killerofhouseplants · 26/02/2022 22:20
Likely. I went to Mykonos in March once. Never again - everything was shut and it was colder than the UK...nowhere had adequate heating either!
Fluffruff · 26/02/2022 22:23
Be careful. We went to Corfu in May once merrily assuming it would be warm. It wasn’t. It was colder than London and rained. On top of that a lot of stuff like cafes and bars were not open and the beaches were dirty with debris because the local council didn’t seem to keep them clean during winter. On our last day there stuff started opening up and the beach was swept/raked etc.
Midgetwithaplan · 26/02/2022 22:31
I don't think it's as cold as is written there, I'd expect temps between 14 and 18 at Easter, but most tourist things don't open until Greek Easter weekend, which is the weekend after our Easter, pools are usually unheated, and the sea isn't warm enough for me until the end of May
QueenofLouisiana · 26/02/2022 22:36
I was miffed at how cold Cyprus was at the start of April! Bikini barely saw the light of day and trousers were used much more than I’d planned. I haven’t made that mistake again!
Danikm151 · 26/02/2022 22:43
I was shocked at the amount of shops selling fur coats! Turns out they have proper winter!
I went to crete in June and the weather was amazing.
Paeonia · 26/02/2022 22:59
I am from Crete and while the weather has indeed changed over the recent years, it's never that cold during Easter. It's normally mild, probably around 15-16 Celsius on average. Easter is probably the best time to visit the island if you don't mind missing going to the beach as it may still be to cold to swim then. There are fewer tourists and it's not too hot as it's in July and August. As for the fur shops that someone mentioned, this is not because it gets cold in Crete but because there are many tourists from Russia.
ErrolTheDragon · 26/02/2022 23:05
Maybe those averages include places at higher altitudes?
hellosunshineagainx · 26/02/2022 23:26
I went to Crete in May and we had half the week as Cardi weather, too cold for swimming. Then the last three days were hot. So think it can be a bit of a risk until June at the earliest
PossiblyDreaming · 26/02/2022 23:33
@HaveANiceFuckingDay that’s what I was expecting. Warm enough for nice walks around with the odd shower etc but not sunbathing/ pool weather. 9yo ds is loving Greek myths at the moment and really likes pottering about at ruins so I was hoping to do that sort of thing. It would be a bit miserable if it’s barely above freezing though!
Reassuring to see Met Office has different temperatures and thanks @Paeonia for info
countrygirl99 · 27/02/2022 07:24
We went to Crete in June. We were staying inland and on one of our walks there was still snow in shady places.
Sadandfedup2 · 27/02/2022 07:45
We went mid April once and it was late teens, very pleasant especially with a young baby but too cold for swimming
zafferana · 27/02/2022 08:47
The Med can be stormy and rainy in the spring. I once went to Crete at Easter and it was chilly and rainy for most of the holiday. I think we had two sunny days, but when the sun shone it was actually quite hot.
mdh2020 · 27/02/2022 08:53
Crete heats up in the first week of May. We made the mistake of taking a two week holiday starting at the end of April. Once it warms up its wonderful. Apparently a lot of Cretans winter on the mainland.
Geamhradh · 27/02/2022 09:50
I'm in the south of Italy and it's 5 degrees today with wind, hail and torrential rain.
I know Crete is further south and round the corner as it were, but it's a huge misconception that anywhere "med/southern Europe" is automatically warmer than the UK.
It can be. I've sunbathed and burnt at Easter, I've also walked through snow. I remember being in southern Spain one Easter with one light M&S cotton jumper and I slept in it.
Chewbecca · 27/02/2022 11:54
Season in Greece is much shorter than, say, Southern Spain.
Greece guaranteed beach holiday weather really is limited to May - end September.
crackofdoom · 27/02/2022 12:03
9yo ds is loving Greek myths at the moment and really likes pottering about at ruins so I was hoping to do that sort of thing.
There are plenty of ruins, but be aware that they are mostly Minoan rather than Classical Greek, who had a different (mysterious) belief system, so you won't find your standard temples to Aphrodite, Zeus etc.
One lovely thing about Crete at Easter is that it's very green and full of spring flowers. It will probably (but by no means definitely!) be nice sitting in the sun and exploring weather, rather than full on beach weather. Orthodox Easter (usually a week later than Western Easter I think) is a hoot in Crete, if you pick the right village.
ErrolTheDragon · 27/02/2022 15:23
We went to Crete in October a few years ago - pleasant weather, might have been ok for the beach if we'd been so inclined.
A few years ago we had a very good Easter holiday in Sorrento - we chose the one hotel which had a heated pool open that early, perfect weather for pottering around Pompeii and Herculaneum but also the excellent trio of Greek temples at Paestum. Another Easter holiday for Greek ruins was somewhere near Ephesus, there are a few major sites in that area (Priene, Miletus) - we needed raincoats a couple of times and the pool was quite chilly (DD and I are tough!
). These might be a bit much for your 6yo as yet, but worth bearing in mind for a few years hence if the older one retains his interest.
GeneLovesJezebel · 27/02/2022 15:25
Personally, at that time of year, I’d be heading to the Canaries.
MiniCooperLover · 27/02/2022 15:38
This is what my weather app says for Chania in Crete today. I think you'd be unlucky not to get T-shirt walking around weather, though I think any hotels that heat pools only start around May (not 100% sure on that). I'm going to Crete the weekend of Jubilee celebrations so I'm hoping for 23 or so then.
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